Dive site
USNS Hoyt S. Vandenberg
Key West, Florida, USA
- Typical depth
- 45 m
- Type
- Wreck
- Level
- Advanced
Notes
159 m former missile-tracking ship scuttled as an artificial reef in 2009. Two giant radar dishes still in place; deck at 24 m, hull at 45 m.
Marine life
- Corals
- young hard coral and sponge growth across the superstructure
- Sharks
- nurse shark
- Pelagics
- jacks, occasional sailfish
- Reef fish
- barracuda, goliath grouper, snapper, grunts
Wreck
- Vessel
- USNS Hoyt S. Vandenberg
- Class
- General G.O. Squier-class troop transport, later missile range instrumentation ship
- Origin
- United States
- Sunk
- 2009 — intentionally sunk as an artificial reef, 27 May 2009
- Length
- 159 m
- Penetration
- Possible — with training
Site features
- Wreck
- Penetration
- Deep Wreck
- Artificial Reef
- Overhead Environment
- Radar Dishes
- Intact Superstructure
When to dive
- Best
- Apr–Oct
- Avoid
- Dec–Feb
Florida Keys; divable year-round but summer offers the warmest water and longest weather windows. The Vandenberg sits in open water seven miles south of Key West — surface chop matters more here than at the inshore reefs.
Conditions & access
- Visibility
- 15–30 m
- Water temp
- 22–30 °C
- Current
- Moderate
- Access
- Open access
- Min cert
- Advanced Open Water for the upper deck (24 m); wreck specialty + tec/deep training for the engine room, holds and the radar-deck bottom plate at 40+ m.
Location
24.4519° N, 81.7361° W
Dive clubs that visit this site
5 operators list this site on their website
- Captain Hook's Dive Key WestKey West, FL, USA · Dive centre[source]
- Captain's Corner Dive CenterKey West, FL, USA · Dive centre[source]
- Finz Dive CenterKey West, FL, USA · Dive centre[source]
- Lost Reef AdventuresKey West, FL, USA · Dive centre[source]
- Southpoint DiversKey West, FL, USA · Dive centre[source]
Sources
Curated from 1 source
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